Men of Mayhem
by Kyojiro Kagenuma
Summary: Juice arrives at Tara's house a few moments earlier, walking right in to stumble upon Gemma trying to murder Tara. Juice interferes, barely managing to save Tara's life. A shellshocked Jax decides to give Juice one last chance. A few months later, with Jax in prison, an old foe reappears with the intent to annihilate the Sons and wreak havoc in Charming. Juice redemption AU.
1. Out of the Blue

Out of the Blue

" **You betrayed me."**

Jax's words hit Juice like a knife in the heart. The words not fully registering at first, he said nothing, just staring back at the steely-eyed Jax, stunned and speechless. Jax stood there with him, holding him there, making sure Juice got his message. Without another word Jax left him, heading back inside the shop, leaving Juice in the street, devastated. Jax had taken away Juice's entire life with three agonizing words. His mind a blur, Juice wandered off into the street, still trying to wrap his head around what Jax had just said to him. His death sentence had just been signed, and he didn't even know how to react. Without even thinking about it he had gotten on his bike and was driving away, no destination in mind, but he knew he couldn't stay here. His world falling apart around him, Juice went looking for Gemma. Something told him that if anyone could help, it would be her.

His head still spinning, Juice pulled up in front of Jax and Tara's home. Maybe Gemma was here? He didn't know, he couldn't even think straight. He saw Eli Roosevelt walking out, having half a mind to gun him down in the street right here. He was the one who made Juice steal that brick of coke in the first place, started him down this path of self-destruction. Juice shook the thought from his head. His fuck ups were on him. Instead he avoided Eli, making a beeline straight for the door. His mind was going in circles a thousand miles per hour What was Jax talking about? Was it that thing with Nero? Had to be. That son of a bitch. He cut ties with Jax, all over a stupid junkie whore. Now he was a dead man, all because he couldn't keep his fucking mouth shut. He loved Jax and the brothers, but the guilt of killing Darvany, selling out Clay, stealing from his brothers and murdering Miles had all piled up on him. It was all just too much. He had tried his best to make things right, but his conscience had gotten the better of him again. Now he was fucked.

He stumbled right in, not even bothering to knock.

"Juice!" came Eli's voice, who had noticed him. Juice didn't even hear him, or maybe he just didn't care, kicking the door shut behind him.

There was no way out of this one, no way to redeem himself this time. He didn't even know why he was here. What made him think Gemma could help, or even would want to? So consumed with himself, Juice was barely paying attention to the world around him, his mind not registering the sounds of a struggle as he entered. Now he found himself watching Gemma viciously attacking Tara in front of him, and for a second Juice just stood there, the disturbance enough to grab his attention, but so out of it he couldn't process what was happening.

"JUICE!" came Tara's scream, having seen him standing idly in the doorway.

Her cry for help brought Juice back into this world, now fully realizing what he was witnessing. Gemma slammed Tara's head into the sink and then dunked her in the water. With no time to think, only act, Juice burst forward toward Gemma. She grabbed a sharp fork from the side of the sink, about to bring it down on Tara's head before Juice took hold of Gemma and pried her away from her victim. Tara fell from the sink, slumping to the ground, gasping for air.

"Get the fuck off me! Don't you know what she's trying to do you idiot?!" Gemma roared, plunging the two pronged fork into Juice's side.

Juice cried in agony and threw Gemma against the wall, knocking the wind out of her, to say the least. Gemma slid down the wall, in pain and cursing.

"What the hell is going on?!" Juice yelled at her, pulling the fork from his side.

"Fucking...psycho...bitch," Tara got out in-between gasps for air.

"You dumb Puerto Rican fuck!" Gemma swore, "Tara made a deal! She ratted! She sold Jax out to save herself!"

Juice just stared at Gemma, shaking his head. "Tara didn't rat Gemma, Jax turned himself in. To protect her."

Gemma looked at Juice with a blank stare, then to Tara, who just stared back with daggers in her eyes.

"Oh shit," Gemma said, realizing what she had almost done.

"You almost fucking killed me!" Tara screamed, climbing to her feet.

Gemma said nothing in return, letting her head rest on the wall behind her as she caught her breath. She had almost killed her daughter in law over a misunderstanding. Would Jax ever forgive her for this? She really fucked up on this one.

Juice looked to Tara, holding his hand up to her. "It's okay, it's over. Everyone's still alive."

"Yeah, thanks to you," Tara said, looking to her rescuer. "You just saved my life Juice. I owe you everything."

Juice didn't know how to react to that, and before he could say anything Eli came rushing into the room, hearing the commotion from outside.

"What the hell happened in here?!" he demanded, looking at the scene.

"Nothing," Juice said, "I got it."

"Yeah, cause it sure looks like nothing," Eli said back, seeing Juice's wound. He looked to Tara, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tara assured him. "Just a misunderstanding with my mother in law," Tara said, shooting a glare in her direction.

Gemma turned away, nothing to say.

Eli looked back at Juice, pointing to his wound, "Did Gemma do that to you?!"

"I'm fine dude, really. No one's gonna be pressing charges here, so let's just forget about the whole thing, okay?"

"Doesn't work like that Juice," Eli said, "None of you are leaving here until I get to the bottom of this. This wasn't just some ordinary family feud."

"It is if your last name is Teller," Tara said, leaning back against the counter, exhausted. "Another magical day to be alive."

About an hour passed before things started to settle down. Eli had called for backup and declared the place a crime scene. Juice, Tara and Gemma had all been questioned, and they all did their best to play down what happened. Despite this, Gemma was still being brought in for questioning, even though Tara and Juice had made it clear again and again they wouldn't be pressing charges. Practically the whole club had gathered in front of the house, including Jax. When Jax saw Juice, he wasn't sure what to think, until he finally got to talk with Tara. Juice watched at a distance as Tara told Jax everything. He couldn't hear them, but he had a good idea what was being said. When she finished, Jax looked astonished, dumbfounded even. Jax looked over to the man he had just given the kiss of death to with a look of wonder.

When it was all over, when the cops were gone and Juice and Tara were free to go, Jax made his way over to Juice, sitting down next to him on the couch. Juice sat hunched over, rubbing his hands anxiously.

"Figured you'd be halfway across California by now, running like the coward I thought you were. Instead you're here. Tara says you saved her life, and I don't what to make of that," Jax said honestly, shaking his head.

"Just...right place, right time man. Anyone woulda done the same."

"No," Jax said, "Anyone else would have turned tail and ran like hell the moment I said what I said to you." He sighed, staring at Juice, who had only taken a few nervous glances at him. "Look at me," he demanded.

Juice winced, bracing himself, and rose to meet eyes with Jax. "I don't know what to do with you Juice. I can't tell if you're just trying to save yourself, or if you really do give a shit. Out all the fucking people, it's you I can't make heads or tails of. You saved my wife's life Juice, I gotta thank you for that, but I don't know if I can trust you. Can I trust you Juice?" Jax asked him honestly, hoping he would return the sentiment. "I need to know brother."

Juice breathed in, taking his time with how he formed his response. Only one thing came to mind. "Blood family, my hometown, all that shit moves back a row. Once you're patched, the members are your family. This charter is your home." he recited the words Jax himself had told Juice now years ago. He recited them once before four years ago to keep Jax from going nomad, a time that seemed like a lifetime ago now. "I still remember what it means Jax. I need you guys. You're all I've got."

Jax actually smiled, chuckling a bit. "I told you that fucking forever ago. Shit was so much simpler back then."

"Yeah, it was," Juice agreed, smiling back.

Jax nodded, seeing the old Juice for once in a long time. "Bobby and Chibs are the only ones I told. I'll tell them I was wrong that you were the leak, that Nero figured it out for himself, and I blamed you too quickly."

Juice looked astonished. "You serious?"

Jax's face became stern again. "This is your last chance Juice. No more breakdowns, no more fuckups. Miles, Darvany, you need to put that shit behind you. You understand?" Juice nodded, biting his lip, about to cry from sheer relief. Jax embraced him, giving him a firm pat. "Don't make me regret this brother."

Jax walked Juice out the door, making sure the club outside knew where they stood. Chibs gave Juice a confused, conflicted look as he passed. Juice said nothing. He didn't have the energy right now.

"Get some rest man, you look like you're about to pass out," Jax said as Juice left.

"Yeah," Juice said simply, getting on his bike.

Chibs watched Juice ride off, then turned back to Jax. "Jacky, what hell is goin' on?"

Jax sighed, shaking his head. "I was wrong. Juice wasn't the leak."

"Then who was?"

"No one, Nero's just smarter than I thought. He figured it out."

"Jesus Christ," said Bobby, "You almost got a brother killed, Jax."

"I know, that's on me," Jax admitted. "Luckily the gavel's going to you now."

"Hey," said Chibs, patting Jax on the chest. "You sure about this? You sure we can trust Juicy?"

"He just saved Tara's life even after I told him he was a dead man. That tells me he cares about this club no matter what. So yeah, I'd say we can trust him," Jax said firmly.

Chibs breathed in, and then nodded. "Alright." He turned, looking at Juice ride off into the black.

 **So, for now, this is just a one shot. But, if people like it, I'll consider continuing, and make an AU version of what Season 7 would be like if Tara were alive, Jax went to prison and Juice was still in SAMCRO. Mostly though, what motivated me to do this was because I felt Juice always got the shit end of the stick, he's my favorite character, and I'm really into redemption. If I don't continue it, I hope you enjoyed this fic.**


	2. The Hit

**Due to many requests, I have decided to continue this fic. I don't know when I'm going to be able to back to it after this, so there's probably gonna be a long break. I appreciate all the support, and I hope you enjoy this addition.**

The Hit

George Skogstrom, known as "Ratboy" to the club, sat on his bed, his head in his hands, digging his fingernails through his hair frantically. Used needles and empty bottles lied all around his room. Something had caused great distress in him. He hadn't slept all night.

"What the fuck man, what the fuck what do I do?"

He lifted his head, staring nervously at the plastic bag he had placed on his nightstand, given to him just moments before, inside it, a human eye. Next to it, a folded up note, and a disc with a name written on the surface in bright black marker.

 **Brooke**

"Dammit!" Rat yelled, rising in a rush.

He opened the top drawer of his nightstand, taking out a loaded pistol.

"Those motherfuckers."

Rat stuffed the gun in his pants, making sure to conceal it from view. He stomped out of his room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Juice roamed the aisles of the town supermarket, just looking for a few groceries before heading back home. A few months had passed since Juice saved Tara's life. Jax had turned himself in as he promised, and was now doing quite a long sting in prison. Bobby had taken over as the president of the charter since then, and for Juice, it was so far so good. The past few months had been uneventful for the most part, and Juice had kept his cool. Every day got easier, and every day he felt better, but he had a feeling this peace wouldn't last. It never did. Not in Charming.

Passing aisle by aisle, he spotted Tara, who just happened to be shopping at the same time. Juice had found it odd Tara had chosen to stick around for so long; she had been given a free pass to move wherever she wanted with the kids, but for some reason she was still here, at least for now. A few months ago it seemed like she couldn't wait to get away, but now it seemed like she was certainly taking her time. Juice knew it was none of his business, but still, it made him wonder.

"Hey Tara, what's up?" Juice said smiling, approaching her.

"Oh, hey Juice, fancy seeing you here," Tara said, smiling back.

"Yeah, I guess. How've ya been?" he asked, making sure she was still doing alright.

"Just getting some things for the boys."

Just because Jax wasn't the president anymore didn't mean his old lady's health still wasn't extremely important to the club. They hadn't seen as much of her since he went inside, and for obvious reasons, she didn't talk to Gemma nearly as much as she used to. Tara and Gemma had always shared a strained, love hate relationship, but this time she really crossed the line, even it was just a misunderstanding.

The two hadn't quite become what you'd call friends since the incident, but such an act of saving someone's life can change their perspective of you.

"You know," Tara started, looking at Juice, "I don't think I ever apologized to you for almost running you over a few months ago," Tara said, feeling more guilty than ever about the incident, especially because he ended up being the one to save her life not long after. She still owed him bigtime, but Juice would never agree with her, of course.

"Oh come on, don't worry about that," Juice said, brushing it off. "That shit's history. It never happened. So uh," Juice started, wondering if what he was about to ask was even smart to talk about. "I figured you'd be long gone by now, why're you still hanging around Charming? I mean, you don't have to tell me, it's not really my business."

"No, that's alright."

As she spoke, a familiar face quickly turned the corner, heading their way. "It's funny, lately I've started thinking about things differently."

"Oh, hey Rat," Juice suddenly interrupted, seeing his brother. "I'm running into everyone here."

Tara was fine with not finishing her sentence. She didn't blame Juice for asking, but she didn't really know herself why she had stayed. The obvious answer was she had no place to go. She could have found one, but for whatever reason she chose not to, as if something within her was forcing her to stay. She couldn't explain it. She turned to see Ratboy, and she could immediately tell something was wrong with him. He looked distressed, like he wasn't comfortable in his own skin. When Ratboy saw Juice was with her, he hesitated, stopping in his tracks, for some reason Juice's presence making him even more uneasy.

"You okay dude?" Juice said, cocking his head at his silent, shaking friend.

He still said nothing, and Tara could see he was sweating. He turned his head around, as if seeing if anyone else was in the aisle with them, even though the store was nearly abandoned at this time of day, so there was no one to look out for. It didn't take Tara's psychological training to see he was acting strange, one might even say suspicious. She had met Ratboy plenty of times, and even remembered his name from their time spent together.

"Are you feeling alright George?"

Tara barely had time to finish her sentence before Ratboy revealed a pistol, shooting Tara in the chest. Tara froze in place, while Juice nearly jumped out of his shoes. Tara let out a gasp, slumping against the shelf to her side, her hand going to her wound. Blood seeped through her fingers as she slipped to the floor, going into shock. Ratboy looked at Tara with a terrified expression, as if he couldn't believe what he just did.

Juice drew his gun.

Ratboy was snapped out of his trance when Juice opened fire on him, striking him once in the shoulder. He cried out and stumbled down the aisle, firing back at Juice as he fled. Juice hugged the wall, staying down to try to avoid getting hit. Ratboy disappeared around the corner, and Juice could hear him crashing through the door from where he was crouching. He had to let him get away; Tara was bleeding out on the market floor.

"Tara!" Juice yelled as he ran to her side.

Tara couldn't even speak, she was practically in shellshock. She had treated plenty of wounds with her time as a doctor especially as SAMCRO's doctor, but she had never actually been shot herself. She had come here to get some food for Abel and Thomas. She and Juice were having a quiet conversation less than a minute ago. Now she was in the worst pain of her life, lying in a pool of her own blood as Juice tried to get her to look at him.

Tara passed out while Juice called 911.

* * *

Hours later, Juice sat at the SAMCRO table, along with the rest of the charter, except of course Ratboy. That's what this meeting was called for. Juice was still torn up about what happened. Tara had got shot on his watch, he was standing right there and there was nothing he could do. He couldn't help but feel responsible. All he could do now was sit there and hope she'd be okay. That and exact vengeance on the man who shot her.

"It's okay Juicy, it's not your fault," Chibs said, who was sitting next to him. "You couldn't have known Rat would do something like this."

Juice didn't answer. He didn't know what to say.

Bobby walked into the room. "I just got word about Tara," he said, standing at the head of the table while everyone else waited anxiously for the news. "The bullet missed her vitals, they think she's gonna make it."

A wave of relief passed over the room.

"Thank God," Tig said, wiping his head with his hand.

Juice let out a deep sigh. Last thing he needed was Tara's death hanging over his head too.

"Now all we gotta do is find that Rat prick," Chibs said vehemently, "Find out what hole he crawled into."

"Yeah, definitely," Tig agreed.

"What the hell would make Rat do something like this?" Juice asked, still terribly distressed about his friend's betrayal.

"Doesn't matter what it is," said Bobby. "He shot Jax's wife. He betrayed us. If we track him down, maybe we find the truth."

"No way he would just do this for no reason," Juice added.

"He's gotta die," said Happy, as fierce as ever. "He's really gotta die."

"We gotta find out why," said Juice. "I saw Rat's face before he shot Tara, he looked like he didn't wanna do it. Someone made him."

After a brief silence, Tig spoke again. "Let's vote this shit."

"I'm sure I don't need to say it, cause we've done this shit so many times now, but the vote's gotta be unanimous," Bobby said, looking all over the group. . "All in favor of stripping Ratboy of his patch. Yea or nay?"

Bobby didn't have to ask, and he knew he didn't. The whole charter had made up their minds ten minutes ago.

"I trusted that little shit, and he stabbed us in the back. He's done," said Chibs.

"Yeah, he's out for sure, at least," added Tig.

"Yea," said Juice.

With the whole room in agreement, Bobby cast his vote. "Yea," said Bobby, bringing the gavel down. "That brings us to what comes next. Mister Mayhem."

"He tried to kill Tara man, he's dead. It's as simple as that," said Tig. "Doesn't matter what his reason was."

The rest of the room roared in agreement, banging on the table, yelling and hollering. They were pissed. All except Juice, who looking down, mostly silent.

"Juice? It needs to be unanimous brother," said Bobby.

Juice inhaled, and looked to Bobby. "Does Jax know about Tara?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah he does," Bobby nodded. "He wants Rat dead."

Juice nodded. Whatever his reason, Rat had sealed his own fate by going after Tara. If Jax himself wanted it done, who was Juice to go against it?

"Then he's dead," Juice agreed.

"Anyone opposed?" asked Bobby to the group.

No one spoke.

"Then George Skogstrom will meet Mister Mayhem."

The gavel slammed down.

"Alright, let's go find the traitor," said Bobby, rising from his seat along with everyone else. "Juice said he hit him once, so he's probably trying to find someone to patch him up, or holed somewhere."

Before Juice could head out the door, he felt a tug on his shoulder. He turned to see Chibs, looking him in the eye.

"Juicy, you've had a long day. You've already done your part. Why don't you go home, get some rest?"

"You don't think I can do it?"

"It's not that Juice, it's what I'm afraid you'll do after. I don't want anymore hangings."

"That's over man, that shit's done," Juice argued.

"Ehh I'm not so sure," said Chibs. "You already did good Juicy, you shot Rat, you got Tara help. We can handle the rest."

Juice bit his lip, then looked away, annoyed Chibs still didn't fully trust him. Still, he supposed he deserved this level of trust.

"Fine," Juice said.

"This is for the best Juicy," Chibs said, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find that bastard." Chibs walked by him now, leaving Juice alone in the room.

So Juice headed home, feeling abandoned and disheartened, like his own friends didn't want him around. He had his own place, but he wasn't there most of the time. Usually, he just crashed at TM. Now though, he didn't feel especially welcome. He was about to take out his key, when he realized the door was already open.

"What the hell?"

Had someone broken in? It had been at least a full day since he'd even been here. He opened the door, and turned on the lights.

"Don't move Juice," came a voice.

He turned to see Rat, sitting down on a chair with a pistol in his hand, his wound crudely bandaged up. He looked terrible, pathetic even. Paled from blood less, a desperate look in his eye.

"What the fuck're you doing here Rat?"

"We're gonna have a talk, you and me."

"You're done Rat, everyone's out looking for you. We voted to excommunicate you, and kill you. You should've just run."

Rat shook his head. "I didn't wanna do it man. I didn't want this shit."

"So then why did you do it?"

"Brooke man," Rat said.

Juice could see dried tears under his eyes.

"What about Brooke?"

"They took her. August Marks. He took her!" He took something out of his vest, a plastic bag, with something Juice couldn't make out inside of it. "He sent me that," Rat said, throwing it to Juice.

Juice caught it, and realized what was inside the bag. Brooke's eyeball.

"What the fuck?!" Juice yelled, dropping the bag in horror.

"He said that if I didn't kill Tara by the end of the day, he'd kill Brooke. He wants to fuck up SAMCRO man. It's all him!"

"Dude, do you know who August Marks is? He's a fuckin psycho! He's just gonna kill Brooke anyway!"

"I didn't know what else to do man! I love her," Rat said tearfully.

'So you did exactly what he wanted you to do?! Betray us? Try to fucking kill Tara? Jax's wife? Brooke is probably already dead."

"I don't know what to do dude."

Juice shook his head. "Best thing could do right now is to put that pistol in your mouth and pull the trigger."

"Fuck you!" said Rat, rising. "Who are you to talk?! You betrayed SAMCRO too! You stole from us, you fucking killed Miles! He was my friend Juice!"

"How the hell did you find out about that?" Juice asked, astonished. "Did Jax tell you?"

"I overheard him talking to Chibs! You earned your way back into the club, why can't I?" Rat asked desperately.

Juice looked at him, disbelieving. "Dude, you shot Jax's wife. There's no comin' back from that," Juice said, almost laughing at the absurdity of Rat's idea.

"And you killed a fucking member! But you got in! You got a pardon."

"I can't help you Rat, really, I don't have that kinda pull. They barely trust me as is," Juice said.

When Rat realized all hope of reconciliation was lost, he accosted Juice, "Raise your arms."

"What the fuck are you doing Rat?"

"I said raise your fucking hands!" Rat ordered, pointing the gun at Juice's head.

Juice did what he was told. Rat was desperate and on edge, who knows if he might do something else stupid like blow Juice's head off. It's not like he had anything to lose at this point. Rat reached into Juice's shirt, grabbing his gun and throwing it away.

"We're going for a ride. You're driving," Rat said, throwing Juice a set of keys.

"You're pulling this shit? Really? Didn't work out too well for Frankie Diamonds."

"Shutup, Get moving," Rat commanded, pointing the gun in Juice's face.

"Fine," Juice said. "But this is stupid Rat."

Rat searches Juice's vest for his phone. He flips it open and calls a number, holding it up to his ear.

"Juicy, what do you want?"

"Juice is mine now, we're taking a ride. If any of you come after me, I'mma blow his fuckin' head off, got that?"

"Rat? You lousy traitor piece of shit!"

Rat closes the phone and throws it away.

"Come on," he said to Juice.

"You're even dumber than you look. Now they know you're still in town."

"Shut the fuck up!" Rat said, shoving Juice out the door.

Rat watched Juice get into the van Rat had parked out back, and got into the shotgun seat. Juice started driving, and for a few moments, they sat in silence, with Rat pointing the pistol at him the whole way. It wasn't long before they were out of Charming, on some public highway built up on an embankment, a steep drop on the right side of the road with a wall of trees at the bottom.

"So are we going anywhere, or did you think this through just as much as the rest of your plan?"

"When we're far enough away, I'll let you out. That's my plan. I got friends."

"No one can protect you from us Rat," he said, taking his eyes off the road to look at him. "We'll find you."

"Shutup and drive."

"You know you were my friend Rat. We were brothers. You threw all that shit away."

"I said shutup."

"You remember when you helped me get away from those cops? I jumped into your van and we ran em' off the road?"

"...Yeah, yeah I remember. Why're you asking me that?"

Without another word, Juice turned abruptly off the road and down the cliff.

"What the fuck are you doing?" yelled Rat, sliding forward, the pistol flying from his hands onto the dashboard.

The van dove into the chasm, speeding down the embankment and straight into the woods. Rat recovered, hastily grabbing the pistol and aiming at Juice's head.

"You're fucking dead!"

Juice slammed into a tree going full speed. The gun went off. The driver's window shattered, and broken shards of glass flew in all directions.

For a moment, the scene was quiet, and one if were there, they could even hear the sound of cars crossing from back on the road. No one was there to see the van veer off, and they had gone at least a few hundred feet into the woods before crashing. If they had both died in the crash than it would have seemed as if they both simply disappeared.

Then the passenger door swung open, a groaning Ratboy tumbling out. His leg broken, and his gun lost during in the chaos of the crash, he tried to limp away from the scene. He didn't get very far. The driver's side door opened as Juice stepped out, a deep gash running across his face from a piece of broken glass, but other than that, he was unscathed. He walked around the side of the van, holding Rat's pistol. He spotted Rat trying to get away. He raised the pistol, holding Rat in his sights for a few seconds, honestly wondering to himself if he should just let him go.

Then he remembered watching Tara gasp for air, lying in a pool of her own blood from the bullet Rat had put in her. He imagined the anguish Jax must have felt when he received the news his wife had been shot by a man he once called brother. He wouldn't let Jax down, not again.

Juice pulled the trigger, and more than once. Rat let out a final gasp of air as three bullets struck him in the back, and fell face forward into the dirt. It wasn't the first time he had shot a brother. At least this time, it was justified. Juice walked over to his fallen former comrade, making sure he wouldn't get back up. Rat's eyes stared into nothing, one of those bullets had gone straight through his heart. Juice lowered the pistol when he was sure Rat was dead. He bent down, stripping Rat of his cut and retrieving his cellphone. He threw Rat's cut to the ground and called Chibs' number. It rang a few times, Chibs was probably wondering why the hell Rat would want to call him.

"Why the fuck ya callin' me ya piece a shit?" came Chib's unmistakable accent.

"It's not Rat. It's Juice."

"Juice?! Juicy boy! You okay? Where's Rat?"

"Rat's dead. He's lying here next to me." Juice sighed.

"Ya killed him? You sure?"

"I crashed the van into a tree, got his gun, and shot him three times in the back. Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I could use a ride home. I ran off the road, on South Street."

"Alright, I'll be right over."

"Wait, Chibs," Juice called after him.

"Yeah, what?"

"I know who did this."

* * *

At Stockton Prison, Jax Teller had a visitor, a guy he didn't ever expect to come see him in prison, but when he heard he had, he just had to hear him out.

August Marks.

Jax sat across from him at the table, waiting for him to say something, but August just stared at him intently, a half smile painted across his face. Eventually, Jax got impatient. He didn't know why Marks was here, but he had a feeling that whatever this was, it wasn't good news.

"You gonna tell me what this is about man? You having some issues with the Irish?"

"No, no that's not what I'm here about. I'm aware that your club is suffering from an internal conflict. Some member went rogue and shot your wife."

Jax looked at him suspiciously, "And how the hell'd you find out about that? That was supposed to be under wraps."

"Do you remember what I told you Jax? When you sold out Clay? That if I found out he didn't do it, well, let's just say my vengeance will not go unfulfilled."

Jax stared at him, disbelieving, and then that confused look in his eye turned to pure horror.

"You did this?"

"How's little Tara doing anyway? Do they think she's gonna make it?"

"You son of a bitch. Why the hell did you come here? Just to tell me this?"

"Yes, and this. Whatever understanding, whatever peace we may have shared, it's over. Sons of Anarchy is over. I'm gonna tear your little crew apart from the inside out, and since you're stuck in here, all you can do is watch. Then I'm comin' after you."

Jax wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and snap August's neck, but he knew the consequences. He would never see the light of day again.

"How the hell did you even do this? Get one of my own members to turn on us? What the hell did you do to him?"

"I'll think you'll find that out soon enough." August said with a slimy smirk, rising from his seat. "You have a nice day now."

With that, August left Jax sitting alone at the table, feeling helpless and humiliated. August came here just to taunt Jax, because he knew there was nothing he could do to stop him. August knew all along Clay wasn't the one who killed Pope, he was just biding his time, waiting for the perfect time to strike. The only thing Jax could do now was try to warn the others, before it was too late.

* * *

A few hours later, night had passed on Charming. Juice was back at the makeshift clubhouse, along with most of the charter. Between Rat's confession and Jax's call from prison, they now knew for certain who was behind this. Ratboy was dead, but he was only a pawn in a much larger game. August Marks was behind all of this. He had kidnapped Brooke, caused Rat's betrayal, and put Tara in the hospital, all with one strategic play. It didn't mean anything that Juice killed Rat, all August wanted was internal disarray, and he had gotten just that. The club had disposed of Rat's body, buried him a shallow grave deep in the woods, and had the crashed van towed to a garage they rented out since the original clubhouse's destruction. They would really have to find a better place of operations soon though, Bobby was already working on that.

Juice sat alone a table, silent and thinking. Something was obviously troubling him. Chibs, afraid this exact thing would happen, sat beside Juice at the table.

"You doin' okay Juicy?" he asked.

"I'm just . . . thinking about something Rat said."

"Who gives a fuck about anything that fucker ever said?"

"He told me that I was just like him. That we both betrayed the club, but for some reason I got off, and he didn't. That coulda been me Chibs. I coulda been the one to get shot dead and buried in a shallow grave."

Chibs nodded, "Yeah, yeah you could've. You were lucky Juice, you got more chances than you should have, but there's a difference between you and Rat. Even when Jax told you you were a dead man, you were still loyal to the club. Even when you were fucked, you still saved Tara. Rat, as soon as things got rough, he sold out, and tried to murder Tara. He was a coward. He didn't give a fuck about this club Juicy, but you do. That's why you're here, and he's not."

Juice looked up at Chibs, who had said those words of praise with absolute sincerity. Before he could respond, they heard the screech of tires as a black van came to a sudden stop outside the clubhouse. At first Juice thought it was a driveby, but then he saw a figure being pushed out from the van onto the hard cement. Juice and Chibs burst out the door to see the van speed off. On the sidewalk at the feet, was a tied up, crying, very much alive Brooke, a blindfold wrapped around her eyes.

"Holy shit," said Juice, while other members of the club came out to see what was going on. He didn't think Brooke had a one in a million chance of coming back alive, but for whatever reason, August had spared the girl. Chibs had a feeling this was far too good to be true, but couldn't guess what August could gain by bringing Brooke back alive. Tara wasn't dead, and he expected Marks to just kill regardless. Juice knelt down beside the sobbing Brooke, trying to comfort her.

"Brooke, it's okay, you're with us."

He undid her blindfold, thinking she would calm down once she saw she was back with the Sons. Juice's smile disappeared when he realized what Marks had done. Juice remained frozen in place, unable to look away from the image that he would never be able to blot out of his mind.

"Mother of Christ," Chibs said, disgusted at Marks' cruelty.

Two empty, soulless sockets stared back at Juice.


End file.
